Five Rabbis to be Ordained and Honorary Doctorates to be Awarded at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem

Five Progressive rabbis will be ordained at the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Academic Convocation on November 2, 2007. Convocation will be held at HUC-JIR's Jerusalem campus, 13 King David Street, at 11:30 am. Ordinees Nir I. Barkin, Silvana Kandel, Moshe Navon, Ishai Ron, and Tanya (Tatiana) Segal are the graduates of HUC-JIR's Israel Rabbinical Program, established in 1975 to prepare Israeli men and women to serve as leaders of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), its congregations, institutions, schools, and other bodies within Israeli society.

“These new Progressive rabbis join a distinguished cadre of men and women whose spiritual and educational leadership is supporting the growing search for meaning, Jewish identity, and spiritual direction among Israelis of all backgrounds and advancing the cause of religious pluralism in the Jewish State and around the world,” said Rabbi Michael Marmur, Ph.D., Dean of HUC-JIR's Jerusalem campus

The HUC-JIR Israel Rabbinical Program's diverse student community is comprised of Israeli-born students and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and North and South America. The rabbinical curriculum is completed in tandem with a Masters degree in a field of Jewish studies at one of Israel's premier universities.

Honorary degrees will be awarded at the Convocation. The Doctor of Humane Letters degree will be awarded to Eliezer Schweid and the Doctor of Divinity degree will be awarded to Dr. Paul R. Feinberg, Associate Dean Emeritus, and toWalter J. Zanger. David Kurz will receive the Doctor of Jewish Communal Service degree, Jonathan D. Safren will receive the Graduate School Medallion, and Henry F. Skirball will receive the President's Medallion for his fifty years in the rabbinate.

David Harman will be inducted as a member of the HUC-JIR Board of Governors as he succeeds Yoram Dinstein as Chair of the Jerusalem Board of Overseers. “We are greatly indebted to Yoram for his years of dedication to the Jerusalem School and his exemplary service as Chair of the Jerusalem Overseers,” says Rabbi David Ellenson, Ph.D., President of the College-Institute.

David Harman Named Chair of HUC-JIR Jerusalem Board of Overseers

David Harman will succeed Yoram Dinstein as Chair of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion Jerusalem Board of Overseers.

Harman, a graduate of the School of Education at Harvard and previously a member of the education faculty there, has held a variety of senior academic positions at the Hebrew University, where he now serves as Adjunct Professor of Education. He is a longtime member of the Board of Overseers and advocate for HUC-JIR's Jerusalem campus.

In announcing Harman's new leadership role, Rabbi David Ellenson, HUC-JIR President, said, "Dr. David Harman is one of the foremost educators in Israel, and has long been an outspoken advocate of pluralism and tolerance in Israel. Raised in both Israel and the United States, Professor Harman has enjoyed a distinguished career at the Hebrew University and has been a creative educational visionary for decades. He has been a foremost advocate of the advantages modern technological advancements possess for education, and his commitment to a strong relationship between Israel and the Diaspora has allowed him to contribute significantly to the creation of a strong sense of Jewish identity and unity among Jews throughout the world. Dr. Harman has long been appreciative of the role that Hebrew Union College does and can play in these areas, and the College-Institute is extremely fortunate to have him serve as Chair of our Jerusalem Board of Overseers at this time of possibility for the growth of Jewish identity and religious creativity in Israel. He will surely facilitate the role HUC can play in forging a strong sense of Jewish peoplehood and shared Jewish destiny among Jews wherever they dwell.".

Barbara Friedman, Chair, HUC-JIR Board of Governors, noted, "As a longtime member of the Board of Overseers, David Harman is an advocate for our Jerusalem campus and he will bring dedication and creativity to his new role."

David Harman is the son of Avraham Harman, z'l, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States and President of the Hebrew University. He earned his doctorate at Harvard, and his undergraduate degree from Hebrew University. His wife Is Dorothy.

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Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is North America's leading institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to North American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit management professionals, and offers graduate programs to scholars and clergy of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise the renowned Klau Library, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, museums, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. In partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, HUC-JIR sustains the Reform Movement's congregations and professional and lay leaders. HUC-JIR's campuses invite the community to cultural and educational programs illuminating Jewish heritage and fostering interfaith and multiethnic understanding. www.huc.edu

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The HUC-JIR website is supported, in part, by the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Golden Family Foundation, and the Irma L. and Abram S. Croll Center for Jewish Learning and Culture.